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COVID Update: 7 Tulsa County Residents Among 28 Deaths Reported Wednesday

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 1,078 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 415,858.

Tulsa County had 230 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 69,112, second to Oklahoma County's 79,260.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 1,245 to 1,162. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 203 to 201. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.

The state reported 28 deaths. When deaths occurred was not immediately reported. Seven were Tulsa County residents: one woman 50 to 64 years old, and four men and two women 65 or older.

Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 4,089 Oklahomans, 661 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 27 deaths the past seven days.

There were 782 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Tuesday evening, 51 fewer than the last time a census was reported on Friday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 216 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Tuesday, 42 fewer than on Friday. KWGS is basing hospitalization and ICU bed numbers on the total across all types of facilities. The state changed to reporting just acute care hospitals but still gives numbers for focus, rehabilitation and tribal facilities.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 173 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, 24 fewer than on Friday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.

Over the course of the pandemic, 23,392 Oklahomans have been hospitalized with COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, the state reported 10% of adult ICU beds and 15% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Tuesday, the OKC region dropped to tier two of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning 15% to 20% of patients have tested positive for COVID-19 for at least three consecutive days. That was up to 21%, however, on Tuesday. All other regions are at tier one.

The state health department reported 2,013 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 393,169. Patients are considered to have recovered if they did not die, are not currently hospitalized and it has been at least 14 days since their symptoms began. Symptoms have been reported to linger for several weeks for some individuals.

The state has 18,600 active cases of COVID-19, 963 fewer than the day before. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.

Tulsa County reported 447 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 65,716. The county has 2,735 active cases, 224 fewer than the day before. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.

The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.2%, on Tuesday, down 0.1 percentage points from when testing data was last reported Friday. Out of 33,996 tests reported on Tuesday, which covered four days, 5.5% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.

The state used to report its cumulative positive test rate, a metric used by Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. It is calculated by dividing the number of cases by the number of negative tests plus the number of cases. As of Tuesday, that rate was 12.2%, unchanged for almost two weeks.

Johns Hopkins uses the different rate to compare states that may track testing differently. It notes the ideal way to calculate the positivity rate is dividing the number of people who test positive by the number of people who are tested, which is how Oklahoma's overall rate is calculated.

The World Health Organization's benchmark indicating adequate testing is a 5% positive test rate.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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